A nearly $1 billion proposal to link St. Paul and Minneapolis is as close as it's ever been to becoming a reality. But the Central Corridor light rail project still faces significant opposition. The acrimony comes from various corners, ranging from the state's largest university to a small neighborhood coalition of African-Americans in St. Paul.

Of all the controversies facing the future Central Corridor light-rail line, a dispute with the University of Minnesota has received the most attention. Both the U of M and the Metropolitan Council are powerful public institutions, and their conflict has complicated the project.

Some African-Americans in St. Paul see parallels between the light-rail line planned for University Avenue and the construction of I-94 in the 1950s, which plowed through the old Rondo neighborhood and still stirs emotions.

Not everyone whose families lost their Rondo houses to the I-94 freeway project is fighting light rail. These three men have emerged in the Central Corridor debate, and their own lives have been touched by Rondo.